Righteous Roots Community Garden

In 2013, Sow it Forward awarded a grant for a new garden at a senior housing project in downtown Kansas City, Kansas (http://kgi.org/blog/epetroske/glanville-tower-apartments-sows-it-forward). We grew greens, carrots, tomatoes, herbs, cabbage and sweet potatoes for the residents in 2013, and in 2014 we will be planting strawberry beds and 4 fruit trees from The Giving Grove project (http://www.givinggrove.org/). The success and beauty of the Glanville Towers garden attracted lots of attention and interest from local residents, and now Glanville residents would like to help establish a family community garden on land owned by the Community House of Wellness (C.H.O.W.) health clinic.

The Righteous Roots community garden will be located on Quindaro Boulevard just up the street from the C.H.O.W. health clinic. The houses on the lots were demolished in 1980s and the total site area of 120 X 100 ft is level, well drained, with full sun all day and soil good enough to plant right away. Several clinic clients and their families will participate in the initial start up of the garden on one of the lots in 2014, with the remaining lots to be developed as needed. We will use a rainwater harvesting water supply of 4 x 250 gal. rain barrels that can also be re-filled from the neighbor’s water supply. The garden plots will be tilled by Kansas City Community Gardens (http://www.kccg.org/) and enclosed by a 4 ft wire fence. The clinic has two 250 gal rain barrels, lawnmowers and basic gardening tools, and member gardeners will get seeds, seedlings and organic fertilizer from memberships in KCCG. The Giving Grove project will also plant 6 fruit trees and berry bushes .